The Impact of COVID-19 on the Migrant Workers and Remittances Flow to Bangladesh

Mamta B Chowdhury,Minakshi Chakraborty

doi:10.1177/0971523121995365

Abstract

This study examines the impact of COVID-19 on the migrant workers and remittances flow to Bangladesh, the fastest growing South Asian country. Migrant workers have been playing an important role in propelling the economic activities of the country for a vast majority of the low-income population. Bangladesh is one of the major remittance recipient countries and earned US$21.8 billion in 2020. Over half a million workers from Bangladesh are employed in foreign countries annually, which eases the pressure on the domestic labour market considerably. However, the inflow of these enormous remittances has been encountered by various challenges including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has brought numerous adverse socio-economic impacts on the migrant workers. Policy recommendations suggest designing and implementing well-coordinated public–private migrant workers’ inclusive policies and creating a supportive environment for the returnee migrant workers to overcome this crisis. Initiating dialogues and negotiation with the employing countries to protect the jobs and workers’ rights can restore the employment and remittances during and after the pandemic, facilitate the expansion of the labour market across borders, and harness the valuable remittances for the overall welfare of the country.

Highlights

Over the centuries, migrating across the border of the home country in search of resources, employment, and higher income and wealth has been a well-documented phenomenon and discussed in the socio-economic as well as history and political analyses
(GW), Asian Financial Crisis (AFC), Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and the current global COVID-19 pandemic (GCP) have brought significant socio-economic, financial, and health crises to a region or globally, which impacted the livelihood of migrant workers and remittances flow to the recipient countries
The majority of the Bangladeshi migrant workers are employed in the tourism, hospitality, and construction sectors in the Middle East and South-East Asian countries

Summary

Introduction

Over the centuries, migrating across the border of the home country in search of resources, employment, and higher income and wealth has been a well-documented phenomenon and discussed in the socio-economic as well as history and political analyses. The major destination countries for the Asian migrants are Asia (35%), the Middle East (27%), Europe inclusive of the Russian Federation (19%), and North America (18%) The economies of these countries have been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and their economic growth has been projected to fall as low as 10% (ADB, 2020). The overseas employment and remittances are the vital sources of livelihood for a large number of migrant workers and their families This huge flow of remittances has been creating multiple benefits for the country, such as supporting its foreign exchange reserve, lessening the pressure on its public funding and reducing poverty level. The fifth section briefly discusses the previous global shocks on the Bangladeshi migrant workers, remittances flow, and the supports provided by the government during and after the shocks; the sixth section draws the conclusion and policy recommendations for the study

Literature Review

Findings

Conclusion and Policy Recommendations